Make Your Dorm Room Feel Like Home…On A Budget

With a new college semester about to begin, and a whole new bunch of students about to call a dorm room home, it’s the perfect time to give you the inside scoop on how to decorate a dorm room, at prices college students can afford.

While the dorm is only temporary, and it may seem like a waste to spend money on home furnishings when there is fun to be had, the comfort that a room which feels like a home can provide should not be overlooked. Transforming your dorm room from a generic square box, to an inviting environment where you feel comfortable, isn’t about spending a lot of money, but being smart about what to buy.

An easy way to add a welcoming touch to your dorm is with lighting. Just buy a floor or table lamp with a funky shade, and the room will not only be given some instant flare, but the softer lighting provided by the lamp, as opposed to the harsh in-built lights, will make your room look more like your home and less like a hospital waiting room. And best of all, you can pick up some super cheap lighting options from just about everywhere in America. Some really cute, inexpensive options can be found at Ikea and Target.

Cool bedding and rugs are also easy makeover essentials. Bed, Bath & Beyond has a great range of comforter sets, with colors to appeal to both guys and girls. Pick your bed linen and pillows centered around a specific color palette, to help give your room a pulled together, grown up look. Pick a color palette that appeals to you, but remember you need to sleep and study in this room (not to mention, share it with someone else, who may not share your aesthetic), so don’t go too overboard with an explosion of color.

Sometimes you just want your own space, especially if you have just come from living at home, in your own room, which nobody entered but you. A room divider is a simple, but still stylish way to give you some privacy and make the room feel more like your room. Walmart have some really expensive looking pieces, at bargain basement prices.

Although college students aren’t at liberty to paint their dorm room walls, or leave any marks on the walls, you can still hang your favorite posters and your photos from home, thanks to 3m, and Scotch, who have both developed a non-permanent range of adhesive stickers, which allow you to hang practically anything without leaving a permanent mark on the wall. Perfect!. Personal touches on the wall will help you to feel more at home, and will help with homesickness. Check out Bed, Bath & Beyond for some really cool wall art options.